War Never Changes
by Protagonist7
Summary: What if Vault 101 and Project Purity were built near Hoover Dam and New Vegas? A combination of Fallout 3 and New Vegas's plots, told through the perspective of the Lone Wanderer
1. In His Footsteps

Fallout: War never changes…

Chapter 1: In his footsteps

I was born in a vault. We all are. I lived in the vault. We all did. I will die in this vault. We all will.

Or so I thought.

I thought to myself, as the bullets grazed my helmet, as my friends and enemies died in each other's arms, and Hoover damn burned…it felt so long ago, yet so near to me, that I was just another vault dweller living deep underground, peaceably without a care in the world. Back then, a long, difficult struggle to defend my rights was standing up to Butch. I didn't have to worry about my next meal. I didn't have to kill to defend my last bottle of water. And I pray that God will forgive me for what I did to receive that water. And I certainly didn't have to worry about being abducted by FREAKING ALIENS, either! I hoped I could have stayed there, but after my Dad left, my fortress turned into a prison, and I escaped.

I sat at the end of the vault door. I saw the sky for the first time, and the sun and the dust lashed out at my eyes. I fell to the ground as the pain from my injuries set in. I'd been shot on my way out. My clothes were torn and bloodstained. I held in my hands a warm recharger pistol and a bloodied switchblade knife. On my back was a large back of things I grabbed on my way out, none of them particularly useful. A baseball bat, a rolling pin, a nail gun, and a flare gun were all that I had to my name aside from the weapons in my hand.

I shambled out to the nearest object I could find. There was a large, fenced off area built from scrap metal. A plump robot sat at the end of the door and said in a cold, monotone voice, "Welcome to Megaton, the bomb is perfectly safe, we promise." I collapsed at the front gate.

((AN: How did you like it? The reason why I'm doing this is because Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas have particular flaws in them that I think could be fixed simply by taking Fallout 3's opening and certain side quests, and putting them in Fallout New Vegas.))


	2. Wasteland Survival for Dummies!

Wasteland Survival for Dummies!

I woke up on a metal floor. I got up. I heard a voice behind me. "Well, how 'bout that? You're awake." It said.

I turned to the voice. It was a man in a leather jacket wearing a fedora and a cowboy hat. There was an M4A1 on his back. He said "Hello, I'm Lucas Simms. Welcome to Megaton. I'm its mayor, and sheriff if the need arises. I saw you bleeding on my front gate and decided to put you in here. The bullet's still in you, but the bleeding's stopped. You've been out for about 2 days now. Now, may I ask your name?"

I offered a hand. "My name's Lewis, sir. Lewis Franklin. Nice to meet you. Where'd you say I was?"

He took it and said "Megaton. You treat my people nice, and you're welcome to stay as long as you like."

I said "Don't worry, I think I had enough trouble for one lifetime."

Lucas smiled "Friendly, and well mannered? I think we'll get along just fine."

I said "I don't plan on it. Hey, have you seen my father by any chance?"

Lucas said "I can't keep tabs on every visitor. Maybe they'll know in Moriarity's saloon. Now, I don't want you to get shot again, you hear me? Before you go running around looking for your pa, I suggest you go to the Craterside supply and stock up on things you need."

I was to obey. There's no way I'd be getting through this with just household items. I walked out of the Sheriff's house, and saw the town he protected. It was built from scrap metal, partly rusting. Town looked like one of those old world junkyards I saw pictures of in school, combined with a flea market and a shantytown. There was a church of some sort. I couldn't make out the particular religion, but I was still glad to see that, I had been a Chaplin when I worked in the vault. From what I heard, the Communists tore most of the US a new one, so I felt glad to see that there were still pockets of civilization, religion, and commerce.

I looked for the store I was recommended to. "Craterside Supply". I found it. I walked into it. There unfortunately wasn't any air conditioning in the metal room, turning the place into something of an oven. Still though, it was probably worth it as in the desert, it can get really cold at night. The area had a sharp bleach smell to it. A lady was mopping the floor. She had red hair, freckles, and work a janitorial outfit.

"Don't mind the smell, just working with a few chemicals! I'm pretty sure they're safe to breathe though" she said. She then looked up at me and saw my torn jumpsuit. She smiled with delight. "Oh, are you another stray from the vault!? I'm working on a book about the wasteland, would you like to make a foreword?"

I thought to myself, 'Sure! Why not!'. This, perhaps, was a mistake. This woman, whom I would later call Moira Brown, had a pretty, doll-like smile and sweet attitude. However, it would seem as though part of her brain had mutated, turning her mind into a glowing, irradiated example of torturous, albeit charming and well-meaning on her part, insanity.

"Yeah, I'll do that." I said.

Moira Brown said "Oh goodie! I'm Moira, by the way. And the book is about surviving out in the wasteland. Since you're new to the wastes, why don't you tell me what you think?"

I smiled and said "This 'outside' place is amazing. In the main room, I can't even see the ceiling!"

She giggled and said "Yeah, and you have no idea how hard it is to change that light bulb up there. Oh, that's great, open with a joke and whatnot! Say, why don't you help me do some research?"

I said "What kind of research?"

Moira said "Well, to start off with, I want to test a cure for radiation poisoning…"


End file.
